A Russian spy discovered by Dutch intelligence while attempting to infiltrate the International Criminal Court studied at Trinity College Dublin for four years.
A Russian operative using the Brazilian alias of Victor Muller Ferreira, ergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov attended Trinity College for four years from 2014 to 2018 while earning a degree in political science.
Dutch intelligence has arrested Cerkasov at a Dutch airport for attempting to use a fake identity to invade the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine.
Cherkasov (36), who studied under the alias Victor Muller at the University of Dublin, graduated with prestigious honors in November 2018 and completed his research in May of that year, majoring in political science and quantitative research methods.
Independent.ie I also got a photo of Victor Muller, who got his degree in November 2018, and posted it online with the caption “Leaving Trinity”.
Trinity College Dublin said it could not comment on this issue due to GDPR regulations that prohibit universities from discussing past students, but this paper independently verifies that Chelkasov received a degree from Trinity College. We were able to.
Cherkasov also lists the Dublin International Research Center as a workplace from June 2014 to August 2015. He claims there that he taught students “reading skills, writing skills, listening and speaking skills” and led a “small group academic tutorial”. General Algebra and Geometry Classes “.
Independent.ie We could not verify this claim on our own.
Russian spies created an elaborate cover story dating back a few years in an attempt to enter the Netherlands as a Brazilian citizen for an internship at the Hague-based ICC in April. In his online resume, Cerkasov listed his work in Dublin.
Cerkasov was identified by Western intelligence as a Russian spy and traveled to the Netherlands pretending to have an internship at the ICC. He was picked up by an intelligence officer on his arrival.
The Dutch intelligence agency also published a four-page backstory invented by Cerkasov. This includes details of troubled childhood in Brazil and its affinity for bean stew and trance music.
“Chelkasov used a well-structured cover identity to conceal all relations with Russia. [the Russian foreign intelligence agency] In particular, “said a statement from the Dutch authorities.
His pose as a Brazilian citizen is believed to date back ten years.
Cerkasov was declared undesirable because he was detained at a Dutch airport and was sent to Brazil.
“This was a long, multi-year GRU operation that took a lot of time, energy and money,” said Erik Akerboom, head of intelligence in the Netherlands.
“This is a clear indication of what the Russians are doing. They are trying to illegally access the information in the ICC.
“We classify this as a high-level threat,” Akerboom added, adding that the ICC has accepted him for an internship.
ICC spokesman Sonia Robla said the court was grateful to the Dutch authorities for the exposure of operational and security risks. “The ICC takes these threats very seriously and will continue to work with the Netherlands,” she said.
When Trinity wrote a letter of recommendation for an ICC spy, he was an associate professor at an American university that Cherkasov attended under the same alias after saying he felt “naive, angry, and playful.”
Eugene Finkel argued that Cerkasov had “strange accents” and that their interaction had “Irish roots”.
“Previously there was a good reason to hate Russian security services. Now I’m just exploding. I feel angry, stupid, naive and tired. I played. I classed him. Taken to. Actually twice. One class was half zoom in Covid and some interactions were external [the] “Classroom,” Finkel said on Twitter on Thursday night.
“He had a strange accent that I couldn’t identify, not Russian. There was no Russian I could notice, and I’m a native speaker. Brazilian, Irish Because I presented myself as roots [the] Strange accents make sense. Unlike this crazy cover letter, he was very smart and competent in class.
“He didn’t take my class about violence in Russia. I think he knew everything he was allowed to do and wasn’t allowed to learn the truth. I took my class about, apparently GRU still had a lot to learn here. I have never talked about Russia.
“After graduating, he asked for an ICC testimonial. Given the focus of my research, it makes sense. I wrote to him. In fact, it’s strong. Yes, I am. I wrote a testimonial of a GRU officer. I never get over this fact. I hate GRU, he, everything about this story. I’m very happy that he was exposed. “
A former classmate at Cerkasov in Dublin said he had no reason to suspect that “Muller” was lying about his identity, but thought his accent sounded more German than Brazilian.
“To be honest, I was confused because I thought his name was Victor Muller and had a little German accent, but he said he was Brazilian, but I wasn’t worried. “.
